It was noted earlier on Thursday that the Week 5 game between the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos originally scheduled for Sunday has been postponed until Monday.
We’re now getting more information as it relates to the 2020 NFL schedule and the ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks within the league. It’s not great news.
NFL schedule: Titans-Bills Week 5 game pushed back to Tuesday
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the NFL has decided to move this game from Sunday to the middle of the week. It’s obviously an extraordinary step for the league to take after north of 20 members of the Titans’ organization tested positive for COVID-19.
The NFL is currently investigating whether the Titans broke league-mandated COVID-19 protocols. If said investigation confirms what we believe to be true, the Titans could be facing stiff punishments. Remember, their Week 4 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers was pushed back to later in October.
NFL schedule: Bills-Chiefs “Thursday Night Football” Week 6 game postponed
In said report, Schefter also noted that the Bills’ game against the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs originally slated for Thursday night has been pushed back until Sunday. In reality, the Bills can’t be asked to play Tuesday and then turn around and play again on Thursday.
Even with this postponement, the Bills are going to be tasked with playing on an incredibly short week. That obviously impacts competitive balance around the NFL.
Related: Should Titans be forced to forfeit games?
Despite these outbreaks, the NFL is not considering playing the remainder of its schedule in bubble cities. In addition to the outbreak within the Tennessee Titans’ organization, multiple star New England Patriots players have also tested positive for COVID-19.
Obviously, the NFL is on very thin footing right now. How the next couple weeks play out will tell us everything we need to know about whether the full 2020 schedule will be played.